


Relatable

by SotetAG



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Fluff without Plot, Friendship, Gen, Happy Ending, Hurt/Comfort, Toy Story References
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-10
Updated: 2019-11-10
Packaged: 2021-01-26 17:35:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,805
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21377914
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SotetAG/pseuds/SotetAG
Summary: Steven and Spinel watch some movies.
Relationships: Spinel & Steven Universe
Comments: 8
Kudos: 52





	Relatable

**Author's Note:**

> I don't know if this has been done before. I just wanted to write a Spinel fic no matter what and this was what I could think of.

Steven was the first one to admit he wasn't perfect. He was never like White Diamond. He had always known he was flawed like everyone and made mistakes. The important thing was that he learned from his mistakes and became a better person every day. He liked to think he had gotten a lot better.

And yet, here he was. He had made a mistake. A really big mistake. He couldn't believe his own stupidity. He wanted to fix it, but it was too late, it just kept unfolding before his eyes and he was so overwhelmed by the sheer horror that dawned on him that he was frozen in place. What if drawing attention to it would make it worse?

Why, oh, why had he ever thought it would be a good idea to watch Toy Story 2 with Spinel?

In Steven's defense, she seemed to have liked the first movie. Ever since Spinel had started feeling a little better about the whole biopoison incident, she had been coming to Earth every once in a while to learn more about Earth culture. Thus, Steven had introduced her to TV. She really liked classic cartoons and animated movies.

Spinel had really enjoyed Toy Story, so Steven, sweet innocent Steven, had thought maybe she would like to watch the sequel. Now that he thought about it, she _had_ looked a little upset when Andy got so excited about his new astronaut toy that he kind of forgot about Woody. But that was a normal reaction, right? The viewer was supposed to sympathize with the protagonist, right? And anyway, Spinel hadn't made a fuss about it, and by the end of the movie, she had been smiling, seemingly pleased with the happy ending.

Toy Story 2 hit a lot closer home, though. Of course, it was about a sentient toy that had been abandoned by her owner and "best friend" and then had spent years isolated in a dark place, forgotten.

He was glad that Spinel didn't have ice powers like Sapphire, because otherwise he was sure he and his whole house would be covered in it. As it was, he could feel an aura of coldness around her. Normally so elastic, she had just gone rigid. She didn't even blink.

Steven debated with himself whether he should say something. Should he apologize for putting her through this? Try to distract her with a joke that would take her mind off the movie? He couldn't make up his mind, and before he knew it, the movie had ended and they were both still staring silently at the TV.

He found himself watching her as if she were a bomb about to explode. But the minutes went by and she still hadn't moved an inch. Maybe the happy ending had appeased her, like the first one?

"Spinel…" he finally managed to get out. "I…"

"Is there more?" She asked quietly, still staring at the now blank TV. "Is there a third part?"

"Yes," he said, still wary.

"I want to see it."

"Are… are you sure?" Had she liked the movie after all? "We can do something else if you—"

"I wanna watch it," she interrupted, her tone of voice sending shivers down his spine. She sounded exactly as she had back _then_, when she had caught Steven holding her rejuvenator and insanity and murderous intent had started taking over. It was scary enough that Steven put on Toy Story 3 without further protest.

As the movie started, Steven mentally went through the whole movie, trying to remember if there were any more abandoned toy plot points. Yes, there were, much to his dismay.

Fortunately, there was no rampage, no scythes came out of her Gem, and her body started unfreezing. Steven risked another sidelong glance at her. Still silent, fat tears now rolled down her marked cheeks.

That was it. This torture had gone on long enough. In an impulse, he paused the movie and spoke as firmly as he could, "Spinel, I don't think we should keep watching this movie. I know it has some sad scenes and I even cried when I first watched it, but you're obviously not enjoying it at all."

"No," she said, even as she sobbed and tried to wipe her tears. "Please…" The whispered word took him aback, and he was surprised when she finally turned to look at him. Her eyes were red from crying, but there was determination in them, with a hint of desperation. "I wanna see how the story ends."

The echo of her own words in the Garden tugged at his heartstrings. With a sigh, he unpaused the movie. The rest of it went without a hitch, save for more shed tears. Well, at least she wasn't trying to kill him or destroy the Earth again. Steven supposed he should count himself lucky.

"Are you okay?" he asked quietly as the final credits rolled.

"I'm fine," she said, and she even sounded like she meant it, even though she didn't _look_ like it. "I actually really liked it."

"Really?" he said, trying not to sound too incredulous. She had no reason to lie, though. "I mean, yeah, it does have a happy ending, right?"

"A happily ever after…" she whispered. And despite her previous words, she just looked so _sad_ . His worry must have been clear as day on his face, because Spinel picked up on it and tried to explain herself, "It's just… while I was watching those… I started to get all these… _feelings_. And I don't understand them!" she finally admitted, a little frustrated. She was clutching at her own Gem as if she could extract all the answers from it.

"What kind of feelings, Spinel?" Maybe if he got her to talk about it, he would also understand what was going on in her head.

"At first I was angry," she said, her voice harsh. "I wanted all the humans in the movie to die."

That sounded like the Spinel he knew, though no less alarming.

"Then I was sad…" she went on before he could make a comment. "And then I was still sad… but happy at the same time?" She laughed, her shoulders shaking. "That doesn't even make sense, right? And I felt lonely, but you're right here! I felt hopeful, but I don't know what for. Why am I feeling all these things? It's just a movie! It's not real! I don't get it!" She was shouting now, gesturing wildly.

"Maybe… Maybe you found it relatable?"

"Huh?" She looked so absolutely confused that, for a moment, she resembled her rejuvenated self, all innocent and naive. "What do you mean?"

"Well… it means you saw herself in Jessie and the other toys. Their story reminds you of the stuff that happened to you."

She just stared at him. Did she not understand yet? Steven thought it had been pretty clear, but then again, Gems often had a hard time grasping concepts such as empathy and fiction.

"For example," he smiled, feeling like he was treading on thin ice, "Jessie thought her owner was her best friend, but then she was abandoned and she spent a lot of time on her own." Was this too bold? Spinel was still staring at him. His smile melted into a nervous frown, but he felt that he was supposed to keep talking. "That made her traumatized and gave her trust issues. And… she… was terrified of being alone and forgotten again…" he trailed off. He made one last effort to get his point across. "But in the end she got new friends and lived… happily ever after?" He smiled again and shrugged. This was worse than talking to Garnet whenever he did something wrong.

And Spinel _just kept staring at him_.

He waited, frozen in his shrugging position.

She blinked at him.

He blinked back.

"That's it!" she shouted, startling him so badly that he yelped and almost fell back. "It was like the Garden all over again! Jessie was just like me! And her stupid, selfish, disgusting, infuriating, cruel, deceitful, two-faced, back-stabbing—"

"Um—"

"—awful, good-for-nothing owner was like Pink!"

Steven sighed. Had Spinel really not noticed the similarities, except on a subconscious level? At least she seemed to have gotten some of those bad feelings off her chest. After her outburst, she settled back down next to him, still processing it and probably reconsidering every scene in the movies under the light of this revelation.

Then, holding her hands to her chest shyly, she looked at Steven. "Do you… really think I can have a happily ever after with new friends just like Jessie?"

"Remember what I said once? There's no happily ever after. At least not in real life," he said, smiling comfortingly. "But that doesn't mean you can't be happy. And you already have new friends. You have the Diamonds. You have the Pearls. You have the Famethyst you like to play pranks with. You have me."

"But we can't be friends," she protested. "Not after what I did to you."

"Well, I consider you my friend," he said, a little disheartened. After all this time they had spent having fun together, she still didn't think they were friends? Still, he supposed he couldn't force friendship on her. "It's okay if you don't want to be my friend. I guess we can be… close acquaintances, or something." He shrugged awkwardly. "But… you know… 'You've got a friend in me.' Always," he finished, smiling.

"Heh," Spinel smiled back, shy again. She was looking at the floor, as if ashamed. "One-sided friendship doesn't sit right with me, so I guess you're my friend, after all."

"I'm glad you feel that way!"

"And Steven…"

"Yeah?"

She finally met his gaze.

"Thanks."

She looked away before she could see his happy face. There was silence again. It wasn't full of dread like before, but it was still a little awkward. Spinel still hadn't forgiven herself for what she had done, and her resentment toward Pink Diamond was still festering deep inside her heart, but the fact that she had finally accepted his friendship gave him hope that she was on the path to healing. She had taken the first step when she had seen the error of her ways and apologized. Trying to live a new life on Homeworld with the Diamonds, befriending other Gems, opening up to Earth culture… This was just another step forward.

Also, he knew just what he needed to break the tense atmosphere and cheer Spinel up after such an emotional rollercoaster.

"Do you wanna watch Toy Story 4?"

She looked at him with stars in her eyes and gave him the widest, most genuine grin he had ever seen on her since she had regained her memories.

"Yes!"

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!


End file.
